Review 534: Ford v Ferrari

Ford v Ferrari is an excellently constructed, well oiled, fast paced sports drama film that coasts along on the strength of its two lead actors.

In 1966, American car designer Caroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and fearless British driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) battle corporate meddling, the laws of physics and their own demons to build the revolutionary race car the Ford GT40 for Ford Motor Company and take on the might of
Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The plot is a superbly crafted, It’s about the human spirit and what it takes to achieve something incredible.
At its core, Ford v Ferrari is a story about a mutual partnership and how Caroll Shelby and Ken Miles came together to build the car that would beat Ferrari at Le Mans...  and go on to win four times on the trot to quote motoring journalist Jeremy Clarkson.
The project was very much a PR stunt for Ford who wanted to show Ferrari that they were cool and sophisticated and Shelby and Miles resolved to work had and play hard within the confines
They mess about and have their differences, ups and downs in their relationship but like any great partnership, they respect each other immensely and their passion for cars and racing is what drives them to work within the bounds of studio system to make this machine. They made their work their play.
They can't imagine doing anything else and if they aren't allowed to that, they're nothing.
The relationships and dynamics between Shelby, Miles and their families are the emotional core of the film 

The radical thinking car designers drivers vs the uptight corporate Ford Motor Company and Shelby and Miles had to fight for loads parts that would make their project a reality be it money, sponsorship, tools and the parts required to build the car etc. They had to have to act professional for promotional purposes, they cpouldnt act too full of themselves because they were representing a big car maker.
This presents a beautifully uplifting and inspiring message about following your passion and how no one can stop and what you can accomplish if you put your mind to it.
Everybody wanted to win against the red beasts that was the Ferrari.

Director James Mangold's direction is superb staging some truly gripping and exciting race scenes and deftly blending them with dramatic, exciting and heartfelt moments.
The cinematography is beautiful and captures the beauty of 1960's L.A., the scenery is breathtaking, the production design (recreating 60's L.A.) is marvellous, the score by Marco Beltrami is brilliantly pulse pounding, the costumes are colourful, the lighting, particularly for the nighttime test drive scenes, is excellent and creates a strong sense of atmosphere. The sound is astonishing, the noise that all the stock cars make is music to the ears and helps to emerse us as an audience into the experience. We feel every gear change.
Apart from being exciting and heartfelt, it’s also surprisingly funny: There’s a surprising amount of humor in the film

The acting is tremendous across the board, Matt Damon and Christian Bale are terrific playing Caroll Shelby and Ken Miles respectively. They bring so much charisma to their respective role.
Shelby was very much the brains behind the operation and Ken

Ken Miles is very much a loose cannon, he goes his own way and is not above throwing a spanner at someone if they disagree with him. His philosophy on racing is that "You have to be kind to the car. You feel the poor thing groaning beneath you. If you're going to push a piece of machinery beneath you need to have some sense of where that limit is."

Caitriona Balfe is simply brilliant playing Mollie Miles, the wife of Ken Miles. Initially, Ken and her are just trying the make their way through their daily lives and make ends meet and then once Ken is hired by Shelby to be the driver of this revolutionary racing car

Jon “The Punisher” Bernthal has a very memorable and important role in this film playing Vice President of Ford Lee Iacocca

Tracy Letts is also very strong playing the CEO of Ford, Henry Ford II, the whole conflict comes about because of personal grudge the Ford had simply because his feelings were hurt and Letts expertly captures his brikness, his intimidating presence,  he really wanted to go to war with Ferrari.

Josh Lucas has a very noticeable role in this film playing Leo Beebe, the senior executive vice president. Beebe pretty much represents the internal corporate burocracy at Ford who think they now better than the car makers. He decrees the orders either for publicity stunts or just to spite them.

Noah Jupe is a true find in this film playing Ken Miles son Peter

Ford v Ferrari crosses the finish line in swinging style, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic